Candida or Toxic Metals First?

byAdmin - Cynthia PerkinsonNovember 6, 2011

Q.Cynthia, I have severe heavy metal toxicities and candida overgrowth. There are lots of controversies over which to remove first: Chelate the metals or detox the candida? How should I go about doing this? ~Thanks! Bee

A.Hi Bee,

Well, as I see it, you should work on them simultaneously. Both are long-term projects that are not going to resolve over night and require a commitment to permanent changes in lifestyle and diet.

Heavy metal toxicity can impede one’s ability to make significant improvement in reducing yeast overgrowth. There are many different theories on what the heavy metal/candida relationship is, but what we know for sure is that mercury and other heavy metals like arsenic has been found to inhibit a variety of digestive enzymes and disrupt the flora in the GI tract. The heavier the concentration of the mercury the more inhibition.

Thus, as long as mercury is present it is unlikely that the GI tract will become healthy enough to overcome Candida.

It is also believed that yeast binds to mercury, so yeast isn’t going anywhere if mercury is present. Additionally, toxic metals have a direct toxic effect on the brain, nervous system and immune system and increase oxidative stress. All of which add more burden to a yeast laden body.

You’ll want to read the following posts where I’ve written about heavy metals before

However, it can, and usually does, take years to remove heavy metals from the body, so one wouldn’t want to wait to start working on Candida. Following the Candida diet, taking probiotics and antifungals are still likely to result in significant improvements in the way one feels, because even if heavy metals are present, these steps will still reduce the level of yeast overgrowth. The lower the level of yeast, the less symptoms one will exhibit.

The Candida Diet alone often results in immediate reduction of symptoms, both psychological and physical. Not only that, there are many reasons besides Candida to make the changes in diet, as the diet I recommend for Candida (which is a slightly modified version of the Paleolithic Diet) is healthier for you all around and the diet you were supposed to be eating in the first place.

It promotes better mental health, nourishes neurotransmitters, soothes the sympathetic nervous system, discourages low blood sugar, nutritional deficiencies, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and obesity, removes common allergenic foods and much more. It also helps your detoxification system to work better, which will aid in the elimination of heavy metals. So you can’t go wrong by at least starting the Candida diet.

There is no harm in addressing Candida and heavy metal toxicity at the same time, as a matter of fact the healing path for each one should compliment one another and increase the amount of improvement one would see in their physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual health.